The Department of Defense to move forward on clean energy development

Mridul Chadha, from Clean Technica, reports that according to Pike Research the U.S. Department of Defense is going to spend $1.8 billion on clean energy.

The various branches of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) combine to become one of the largest consumers of energy in the world, with consumption of around 3.8 billion kWh of electricity and 120 million barrels of oil annually, totalling $20 billion spent on energy directly per year.

“Changes in energy policy have provided countless opportunities throughout all operations of the DoD, with examples of renewable energy projects that include targets of 1 gigawatt of renewable energy installed capacity each for the Army, Navy, and Air Force by 2025, a target of 25 percent of all energy produced or procured from renewable energy sources by 2025, and development of the Navy’s Great Green Fleet Strike Group powered by biofuel, nuclear power, synthetic fuels, and hybrid propulsion systems,” says research analyst Dexter Gauntlett. “Most of these initiatives have gained considerable momentum and many of the targets will be achieved.”

As a research and development laboratory, the DoD is the largest driver of innovation for all of the branches of the military. It will be key for the DoD to continue this development in order for the military and federal government to reach its renewable energy goals, which is looking good considering their projected spending toward clean energy.